--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No art that is not in the end understood…" description: "\"No art that is not in the end understood by the People can live or ever did live a single generation.\" — Frank Norris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg" --- # No art that is not in the end understood by the People can… ![“No art that is not in the end understood by the People can live or ever did live a single generation.” quote by Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg) > “No art that is not in the end understood by the People can live or ever did live a single generation.” [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art that isn’t eventually understood by the people cannot endure beyond its generation. **In simple terms:** Art must be understood to survive. Key Takeaway Create art that resonates with audiences. Themes art understanding legacy Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public exhibition - educational program - media critique Key Concepts Cultural transmission aesthetic value Questions to Reflect On - How do you define artistic success? - Can misunderstood art gain later appreciation? A Different Perspective Obscure art can still be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Power ... is the supreme end for all those who have not understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/power-is-the-supreme-end-for-all-those-who-have-not-understood/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“But in the end I understood this language. I understood it, I understand it, all wrong perhaps. That is not what matters. It told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-in-the-end-i-understood-this-language-i-understood-it-i/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Yet, most of the readily accessible reserves of oil formed over hundreds of millions of years will be consumed within a single generation, spanning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/yet-most-of-the-readily-accessible-reserves-of-oil-formed-over/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [“a single generation enamoured of foreign ways is almost enough in history to risk the whole continuity of civilization and learning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-nivedita/a-single-generation-enamoured-of-foreign-ways-is-almost-enough-in/) [Sister Nivedita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-nivedita/) > [“If every parent unwound a kid due to disrespect, the human race would go extinct in a single generation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/if-every-parent-unwound-a-kid-due-to-disrespect-the-human-race-would/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [I could go on and on about how the statements and concepts that used to depress me now bring me joy, but that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-could-go-on-and-on-about-how-the-statements-and-concepts-that-used/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [ \[May\] understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she ever met,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-rylant/may-understood-people-and-she-let-them-be-whatever-way-they-needed-to/) [Cynthia Rylant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-rylant/) > [To make yourself understood to people, one must first speak to their eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/to-make-yourself-understood-to-people-one-must-first-speak-to-their/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [There's just something about being a young, working class, working poor, person of color in New York City in the 80's that needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-quintero/there-s-just-something-about-being-a-young-working-class-working-poor/) [Sofia Quintero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-quintero/) > [I never understood people who don't have bookshelves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-plimpton/i-never-understood-people-who-don-t-have-bookshelves/) [George Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-plimpton/) > [“Because the fact of not being understood by other people had become my only real source of pride, I was never confronted by any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/because-the-fact-of-not-being-understood-by-other-people-had-become/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“I’ve never understood people who grind through a book they don’t really like, determined to finish it for some unknown reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-ve-never-understood-people-who-grind-through-a-book-they-don-t/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [ \[He\] understood the people in a new way...The people is not everyone who speaks our language, nor yet the elect marked by the fiery… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/he-understood-the-people-in-a-new-way-the-people-is-not-everyone-who/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The notion that commercial contracts should be written in plain English so as to be understood by people who would never be expected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-fox/the-notion-that-commercial-contracts-should-be-written-in-plain/) [Charles M. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-fox/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More by Frank Norris > [“If I were to name the one crying evil of American life, Mr. Derrick, it would be the indifference of the better people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/if-i-were-to-name-the-one-crying-evil-of-american-life-mr-derrick-it/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“Wait till you see-at the same time that your family is dying for lack of bread-a hundred thousand acres of wheat-millions of bushels of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/wait-till-you-see-at-the-same-time-that-your-family-is-dying-for-lack/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“Believe this, young man," exclaimed Shelgrim, layinga thick powerful forefinger on the table to emphasize his words, "try to believe this - to begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/believe-this-young-man-exclaimed-shelgrim-layinga-thick-powerful/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“A literature that cannot be vulgarized is no literature at all and will perish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/a-literature-that-cannot-be-vulgarized-is-no-literature-at-all-and/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [ \[The Muse of our Fiction of the future\] will lead you - if you are humble and honest with her - straight into a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/the-muse-of-our-fiction-of-the-future-will-lead-you-if-you-are-humble/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [Always blame conditions, not men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/always-blame-conditions-not-men/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [Evil is short lived. Never judge of the whole round of life by the mere segment you can see. The whole is, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/evil-is-short-lived-never-judge-of-the-whole-round-of-life-by-the/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [No one to love, none to caress, Left all alone in this world's wilderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/no-one-to-love-none-to-caress-left-all-alone-in-this-world-s/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [Fancy a novel about Chicago or Buffalo, let us say, or Nashville, Tennessee! There are just three big cities in the United States that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/fancy-a-novel-about-chicago-or-buffalo-let-us-say-or-nashville/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“Goo'-by, ole Bill, by-by. There you go, an' the signal o' distress roun' you, H. B. 'I'm in need of assistance.' Lord, here comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/goo-by-ole-bill-by-by-there-you-go-an-the-signal-o-distress-roun-you/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [Things can happen in some cities and the tale of them will be interesting: the same story laid in another city would be ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/things-can-happen-in-some-cities-and-the-tale-of-them-will-be/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“It belonged to the changeless order of things---the man desiring the woman only for what she withholds; the woman worshipping the man for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/it-belonged-to-the-changeless-order-of-things-the-man-desiring-the/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“He strove for the diapason, the great song that should embrace in itself a whole epoch, a complete era, the voice of an entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/he-strove-for-the-diapason-the-great-song-that-should-embrace-in/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [The function of the novelist... is to comment upon life as he sees it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/the-function-of-the-novelist-is-to-comment-upon-life-as-he-sees-it/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) > [“I never truckled, I never took off the hat to fashion and held it out for pennies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/i-never-truckled-i-never-took-off-the-hat-to-fashion-and-held-it-out/) [Frank Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) [Explore all 19 Frank Norris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No art that is not in the end understood by the People can live or ever did live a single generation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Norris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood-by-the-people-can-live-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood-by-the-people-can-live-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/frank-norris-28716_art_no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood_2580090.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No art that is not in the end understood by the People can live or ever did live a single generation.” — Frank Norris", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank Norris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-norris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No art that is not in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood-by-the-people-can-live-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-norris/no-art-that-is-not-in-the-end-understood-by-the-people-can-live-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```